MONDAY 9 – FRIDAY 13 JUNE     TATHRA

After an early lunch, on Monday, we went to play Pairs bowls at the Tathra club.

We drew against a very elderly pair of men, who looked like they could hardly totter along the green, let alone deliver bowls that would reach the other end! I thought we were going to have an embarrassingly easy game. As we walked out to play, one of the men remarked, in a slow, laconic drawl “Pennant players, are yous?” ……..They then proceeded to comprehensively demolish us! So much for assumptions……

On Tuesday, we decided that, rather than pack up today and move south to Merimbula, for the three days of bowls, then return back this way again, we would be better served by staying here and commuting to Merimbula in the mornings for the games.

We spent a couple of hours exploring the back roads and residential areas of Tathra. We drove very slowly through the hilly section, behind the beach, admiring some of the houses that would have brilliant views. I did have to admit to John that it wouldn’t be a bad place to live – IF one was looking to relocate from Melbourne to southern NSW.

From Wednesday to Friday, we had to get up early each day, in order to be in Merimbula by the appointed time for the bowls. Each day, I packed our lunches to take with us.

The drive there was a pleasant one, and took less than half an hour. Even though we were back and forth over the same road, it did not become boring. There was an interesting mix of bushland and cleared farming land, some of which was more hobby farm style, with large modern homes on. It was always late afternoon by the time we were returning to Tathra, and thus we kept a very careful watch out for kangaroos by the road.

This annual tournament was a very large one, attracting bowlers from far and wide and offering substantial prize money. In the world of lawn bowls, that meant very strong competition – well out of our league! We knew that – John just wanted the experience of playing here.

We were playing in the fours event, teamed up with assorted strangers to make up the four, none of whom were very good. I guessed that was really why they needed to rope us in to make up the numbers.

We had a rather mixed set of results, none good enough to put us anywhere near winning anything for our bowling.

Some of the other visiting players were from our home club in Melbourne. We had a bit of a chat with them, at one stage, but they were not John’s favourite people so we did not socialize much.

On Friday – the 13th, not usually an auspicious day for me –  there was the draw of a big raffle, for which tickets had been sold throughout the tournament. To my amazement, I won the second prize – a bowls bag, to be selected by me from the golf and bowls shop at Tura Beach, a resort type settlement just north of Merimbula. After the presentations to the bowls winners, and the raffle draw, we had to race off, to get to the shop before it shut, to collect my prize, as we did not plan on being back this way. Just made it, and I was very pleased with what I was able to select – about $120 worth! I had never had a new bowls bag – had been using my father’s very antiquated one. It made the whole experience worthwhile for me.

Friday fish and chips again for tea, from the local shop.